"Energy efficiency and sustainability in homes and other private &public entities is a topic that very few individuals and local authorities, SME's and other entities pay attention to. This topic is quite popular, but also highly needed across Europe and the profession of sustainability advisor is starting to emerge on the market, especially attracting the interest of young people. Green jobs are the future of societies, either as completely independent jobs dealing only with environmental issues, or as segments that are introduced in variety of professions. Nevertheless, in Macedonia green jobs are lacking on the market and obviously there is a high need for them. All of the units of local governments have a chapter in their strategic documents which clearly states the need for interventions in the field of environmental protection and green economy. In the last few months the applicant Eco Logic has worked on preparation and verification of the first of this kind VET programme in Macedonia - related to forming a completely new profession in the country: ""Sustainability Advisors"". The other organizations and countries involved in the project, besides the coordinator have interest to develop similar programmes in their own countries and in their field of work, but need further share of information, good practice and experience related to the process itself. There is also another organization from Macedonia, which also works with development of VET programmes in fields other than sustainability and environment. The idea is to exchange practices in order to improve the above mentioned ongoing VET programme on sustainability advisors developed in Macedonia, by combining and adding several components which are not included in the current programme. The topics that are targeted within the action are meant for the same target group, unemployed people, both male and female, including people from marginalized groups. The needs of these people and in general described as: retraining. And in relation to the availability of open job positions in the green sectors, the demand is high, in many various industries in a given community. Within this proposal the main target country in which transfer of knowledge, experience and share of good practices will be Macedonia, where the current demand in the green sector is several thousands workers (mainly in energy efficiency & audit). The partners from Poland and Austria as EU developed countries will be transferring knowledge and share practices with Macedonia. The target groups of the project will primarily be people that are working within the topic of interest, such as: representatives from municipalities (3 municipalities per country, 5 representatives per municipality), representatives from civil society sector that work in the sustainability field, and/or field of development of new VET programmes and curriculum for young people - 5 organizations each, 2 people per organization. These will be the multipliers Other people involved in the exchange of good practices are stakeholders and multipliers in adult education (i.e. energy training, environmental audit and eco standards, sustainability consultants and sustainable development education, environmental education and so on), but the project will as well address teachers for youth and young adults. With these people series of meetings will be held, face to face and also online in order to exchange experience and good practices. Objective(s): -Objective 1: Innovative improvement of educational programmes related to green jobs and environmental sectors, and making them in line with EU policies, through exchange of good practices between member states and candidate state - while also opening of key dialogue with political actors, CSO’s, business community and others. -Objective 2: Involving Local Authorities, CSO’s & SME's in processes for policy/programme improvement in relation to sustainable development, energy efficiency, and green jobs, locally but also at EU level. -Objective 3: Matching skills of unemployed people with labor market needs in line with EU’s best practices - based upon share of good practices and experiences. - Results related to Objective 1: VET programme ""Sustainability Advisors"" developed by Eco Logic is improved through a process of share of good practices among the consortium, and interest for development of similar VET programmes is expressed by the partners. - Local authorities, CSO's and SME's are familiar in depth about the potential of young people through prequalification and participation in VEin sustainable community development, and showed interest to make efforts in order to involve young people with green VET certificates in their daily work in near future. - Document for future creation of ""Sustainability Advisor"" programme with comments on matching skills of unemployed people with labour market needs is created and discussed among the target groups and key stakeholders."

The understanding and awareness of culture is an essential factor in the process of integrating refugees and migrants into the host society, as culture brings people from all over the world together and unites them without having to speak the same language.In our project “EMPOWER IDENTITIES - explore the potential of creative learning” (hereafter IDE 3.0) we will concentrate on performing and visual arts that support creative learning and we will identify and exchange different art methods across Europe. The use of arts can have a positive impact on the well-being of migrants which can be a determinant of successful social integration (Fitzpatrick, F. (2002). A Search for Home. Art Therapy, 19(4), 151–158). The project will concentrate on the concept of culture as an integration mean and the use of creative learning methodologies with a focus on performing and visual art methods which has so far been underestimated when aiming to foster social inclusion.IDE 3.0 addresses migrants and refugees, but also local youngsters with fewer opportunities as social inclusion should not only be limited to the context of migration.Art methods will empower them to reflect on different impacts of their perception and the development of their identity to further foster resilience (especially important also when thinking about the global pandemic these days), they will also become more self-effective and learn how to promote their soft skills.Soft skills will include:- Awareness for one's own identity and values in order to understand one's own perception of other cultures- Rise of self-confidence and personal commitment as being involved in a co-creation process- Ability to express one's own thoughts in a verbal and non-verbal way by using art methodsOn the one hand, the key element of the project lies in exploring and identifying good practices that use performing and visual art methods to strengthen resilience and to foster social inclusion. A toolkit will be produced available free of charge containing the gathered pedagogical tools and materials for other youth workers and institutions. On the other hand, two Blended Learning Activities will give the opportunity to young people to get closer to the arts and culture both of their countries of origin but also of the countries they currently live in and to experience cultural diversity as a chance as well as to empower them to serve as multipliers and learn project based structures.They will be given the chance to experience new ways of learning as they will communicate via digital platforms, share their learning experience with peers, while becoming part of a network of young people around Europe sharing same interests. The target group consists of:1. Young migrants and refugees aged 16-24 years, but also local youngsters with fewer opportunities who need support to strengthen their identity and to build up confidence for a better social inclusion.2. Youth workers working with the above mentioned target groups, especially those who are responsible for the mentoring within their premises.3. NGOs which are dealing with the integration of migrants into society and which have already built an intercultural team or which would like to create a more inclusive team.4. Organizations in the cultural and creative sector as part of a synergy between them and respective NGOs working in the field of social inclusion. All of the above mentionned groups will be involved in different activities of the project by contributing to the creation of the toolkit, by participating in the Blended Learning Activities and by being beneficiaries of the project results.The project aims to:- Raise awareness for the need of social inclusion of migrants and refugees- Explore and identify good practices that use performing and visual art methods to strengthen resilience and to foster social inclusion- Support and encourage youngsters to experience change as a chance - Equip Youth Worker with creative learning tools + methodsAll European countries are affected by immigration and need to develop a common understanding regarding the importance of social inclusion of migrants and people with fewer opportunities into the local community as well as it is crucial to identify and establish a sustainable concept of social inclusion through art methods in formal and non-formal environments, leading to common European values and the prevention of discrimination. With our project, we will set an example of successful social inclusion through creative learning and performing and visual art methods. These methods shall be seen as a role model for other institutions and they shall motivate others to commit themselves to the social inclusion of migrants and youngsters with fewer opportunities.The project not only draws attention to the importance of art in general, but also raises awareness for the art and cultural scene, which is severely affected by the current pandemic.

<< Background >>We are living in times of chronic diseases pandemics, increasing air pollution and global warming in cities designed mainly for cars. The chronic diseases take their toll as the biggest killer in the EU and worldwide, most of it being ischemic heath disease and cancer, while the economically disadvantaged and socially excluded suffer the most from it. Several factors have been listed for that by the EU Commission, among which the sedentary life styles. The Austrian ministry of health, the Health Council of the Netherlands, the European Society of Cardiology have all presented studies that show that regular physical exercise contribute to reducing the risk for cardiovascular diseases, and prevent atherosclerosis (calcification of the arteria that leads to hearth attack). Bicycles allow for the daily commute to be turned into the needed training to stay healthy and fit. While Europe is still struggling with COVID 19 crisis and a growing climate crisis, having the European Green Deal, the European Climate Pact and the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy in mind, the policy context has never been more favorable for cycling in Europe than now. While Commission is planning at least €20 billion to invest in sustainable transport, including bike lanes and countries cross Europe are implementing investment projects into the cycling infrastructure, there is also a strong need for soft projects to support acquirement of knowledge, skills and competencies for safe road behavior.Bicycle use varies greatly depending on the region - in the Balkans and especially in middle eastern countries bicycles enjoy very little popularity. Young people originating from those countries show very low traffic literacy, and some have never used a bike in their lives. Several European studies are showing, that when it comes to choosing bicycle as means of transport, people with migration background are less likely to use it. This gap is even bigger when it comes to women with migration background. According to an Austrian study (Migrationshintergrund und Alltagsmobilität. Mobilitätsverhalten und Verkehrsmittelwahl der österreichischen Bevölkerung. Heinz Fassmann und Ursula Reeger.) 70% of women with migration background do not cycle at all. With this project we are addressing green transport and mobility, road safety literacy and the mobility and inclusion of young refugees, migrants and other groups living at the margins of the society. Lack of accessibility to transportation services and systems leads to social exclusion and the bicycle provides target groups with low-cost mobility, which is a prerequisite for social inclusion.With the proper knowledge and practical skills, cycling becomes very affordable way of moving around in the cities, sometimes faster than the local transportation. In some cases, it is even a source of additional incomes. The current number of jobs directly related to cycling in the EU is estimated at 650 000, with the potential for one million more. This opens a lot of possibilities to many young people to find a dynamic and active job, or even open their own enterprise in that branch. Therefore the project consortium of the YOUTH & COMMUTE project is also bringing to light the entrepreneurial aspects of this sector.<< Objectives >>Our main aim is to increase accessibility to bicycles by creating a structured approach for working with marginalized youth on acquiring skills, knowledge and motivation for becoming daily bike commuters. Through a research on national basis we have defined the reasons and obstacles why our target groups but also local youth is not using bikes daily or at all, and created a program with project outcomes that is covering cover the gaps. Considering the amount of population living in cities, and the increasing share of the cycling in the intermodal traffic system, the need for educating the youth with low traffic literacy and bike maintenance skills increases.By implementing the project, we want:(a) Youth workers, social work professionals and/or non-formal educators to:- be able to develop and implement a tailor-made structured approach and strategies for the improvement of road safety literacy in their professional intervention, taking a special consideration of vulnerable groups such as youngsters with low socio-cultural and economic resources, and young people with migration backgrounds;- become part of a transnational network of professionals that provide innovative solutions for road safety literacy with marginalised youth;- be empowered to contribute to the promotion of green transport and its positive impact on health and the environment through professional development.(b) Young migrants, refugees and marginalised youngsters to:- benefit from on-site opportunities to access information about cycling with all its benefits and support for safe road behaviour; - develop their road safety literacy, understand the benefits and importance of green transport, improve their physical and mental health and well-being;- acquire basic mechanical skills for bike maintenance;- act as local, regional and national ambassadors of the project, green transport and mobility; - have the possibility to participate more actively in society.(c) The 5 partner organisations participating in the project to: - develop a long-lasting cooperation by establishing a social enterprise, which will continue to operate beyond the project timeline and will benefit economically marginalized segments of society.<< Implementation >>TRANSNATIONAL MEETINGS There are 4 transnational meetings scheduled in M2, M9, M16 and M24 to ensure clear communication, respect for the diverse range of cultures, views, methods of approaching issues, and ways of communicating, clear delegation of tasks for the whole partnership and clearly defined deadlines;effective mechanisms for remote communication and team working, quality control process which will be implemented via constant monitoring, evaluation, feedback and reporting mechanisms allowing timely improvement to be introduced and resolution of any potential conflicts between partners, guided by signed partner agreements, the specifications of the proposal and Erasmus+ programme regulations in place.LOCAL WORKING GROUPSEstablishment of Local Working Groups and implementation of local activities, which will contribute to the development of project results and contribute to the visibility of the project.TANGIBLE PROJECT RESULTSDevelopment of 4 project results:1 User-friendly Fix & Ride Toolkit of Resources 2 Front-line Equip & empower In-Service Training Programme 3 User-friendly Online Portal 4 Establish a non formal social entity YOUTH & COMMUTE ORGLTTAOrganisation of two Learning, Teaching or Training activities to achieve a strong impact as on one hand youth workers come together for a hands-on transnational training event and on the other, members of the target group exchange their experience, implement an awareness raising campain during the European Mobility Week and produce further resources. These activities also provide an intercultural learning environment to stimulate collaborative work between youth workers and young people from different regions in Europe.ONGOING DISSEMINATIONOrganisation of dissemination activities – on the local and international level and in connection with European campaign “European Mobility Week”, through face-2-face meetings, online conferences and a social media campaign. The dissemination Workshops “How to become an urban cyclist” organized in all partner countries aims to present and showcase the project results developed by the and enable engagement and interaction with the target-groups and stakeholders with the developed resources.<< Results >>The project YOUTH & COMMUTE will have the following results:1) Innovative user-friendly Fix & Ride Toolkit of Resources (Project Result 1) aims to increase the mobility of marginalized youth by equipping them with knowledge, skills and attitudes, with which they will be able to have access to low cost mobility and opportunities for social inclusion. By providing them with information about cycling with all its benefits and support for safe road behavior and helping them acquire basic mechanical skills for bike maintenance through embedded learning opportunities, we are reducing barriers to safe bicycle commuting and reduce the gap between target-group needs and support provision.2) Front-line Equip & empower In-Service Training Programme (Project Result 2) targeted to youth workers, social work specialists and non-formal educators to: (a) present the educational resources on cycling, road safety, purchasing and maintaining a bike and green transport developed in the project; (b) understand the importance of a tailor-made structured approach and cohesive communication strategy while working with marginalised youth; (c) understand cultural dimensions of cycling practices(d) understand the need for more women-oriented classes(d) understand the principles and benefits of embedded learning environments with youth; (e) understand the principles and benefits of using videos, storytelling and gamification strategies while working with marginalised youth in breaking stereotypes.3) User-friendly Online Portal (Project Result 3) to provide a multilingual and online interactive platform to enable the full access to the educational resources developed throughout the project, for the target-audiences and stakeholders. The specific objectives of the e-learning portal are:-Enable the access to all educational materials of the project in modular, bite-sized units, according to the target-group specific learning needs.-Facilitate peer-to-peer learning through a collaborative platform.-Ensure full compatibility in all electronic devices (e.g. computer, smartphone or tablets) so that the Portal can easily be accessed - regardless of users’ geographical location.4) YOUTH & COMMUTE ORG - a non formal entity (Project Result 4) as a concept in all participating countries; a structure that can be easily set in all participating countries of the project, but also replicated across Europe. The social enterprise will function as part of the regular activities of the participating organizations, thus having its own sustainability, but also building its own potential for future development and potential to function as official legal entity that will serve its goals directed towards sustainable community development.Moreover we expect:- 25 young migrants, refugees and marginalized youngstersto be actively involved in the development of the project results;-125 young migrants, refugees and marginalized youngsters to fully use the Fix & Ride Toolkit of Resources;- 75 youth workers, social work professionals and/or non-formal educators to complete the Equip & empower In-Service Training;- 15 youth workers, social work professionals and/or non-formal educators to complete the short-term joint staff training event in Turkey;- 25 young migrants, refugees and marginalized youngsters and 10 youth workers to be members of the Local Working Group;- 5 public events during the European Mobility Week 2022 with the Local Working Groups;- 25 young migrants, refugees and marginalized youngsters to participate in the Blended mobility of young people in Austria during the European mobility week 2023;- 200 representatives from the main target-groups to attend and participate in the “How to become an urban cyclist” dissemination workshop at the end of the project;- A minimum of 200 representatives from the main target-groups to register in the Online Portal.

"Projekt „Młodzi w akcji - wymiana praktyk w celu pobudzenia młodzieży do działania"" realizowany jest przez Fundację „Wyjdź z Domu” i 4 partnerów społecznych: z Austrii, Chorwacji, Rumunii i Polski w ciągu 18 miesięcy, tj.Od kwietnia 2021 r. do końca września 2022 r. Projekt skierowany jest do młodzieży w wieku 13-30 lat (23 osoby) i pracowników kadry edukacyjnej organizacji partnerskich (17 osób) - łącznie zaangażowanych będzie co najmniej 40 osób. Pomysł projektu zrodził się z potrzeby podniesienia potencjału i wiedzy pracowników organizacji pozarządowych zaangażowanych w działania edukacyjne na rzecz młodzieży, promocję zaangażowania obywatelskiego młodych osób w społeczeństwie zdominowanym kulturą mass-mediów a także z powodu starzejących się społeczeństw mniejszych miejscowości Europy środkowej.Głównymi celami projektu są:1. Wzrost umiejętności, wymiana doświadczeń i metod edukacyjnych 17 przedstawicieli kadry edukacji pozaformalnej z organizacji partnerskich w zakresie edukacji młodzieży na polu zaangażowania społecznego i wolontariatu poprzez uczestnictwo w różnych warsztatach i szkoleniach w okresie 18 miesięcy realizacji projektu.2. Wzrost umiejętności i wiedzy 23 młodych osób w zakresie kompetencji kluczowych, a w szczególności kompetencji społecznych i obywatelskich poprzez uczestnictwo w warsztatach w ramach mobilności i akcji organizowanych w trakcie 18 miesięcy realizacji projektu.Projekt przewiduje przeprowadzenie:- 2 międzynarodowe spotkania projektowe w sumie min. 10 osób z kadry zarządzającej projektem,- 3 krótkie mobilności szkoleniowe dla pracowników w sumie min. 17 uczestników zespołu edukacyjnego partnerów projektu,- 2 planowanych mobilności typu „Mobilność mieszana młodych ludzi” dla co najmniej 23 uczestników projektu w wieku 13- 30 lat,- przeprowadzenie 152 godzin lekcyjnych zajęć / warsztatów / szkoleń edukacyjnych w ramach mobilności realizowanych w ramach projektu.Zakładane rezultaty projektu:- wzrost wiedzy i umiejętności 17 pracowników kadry edukacji z organizacji partnerskich w zakresie wykorzystania nowatorskich metod edukacji pozaformalnej młodzieży poprzez uczestnictwo we wspólnych warsztatach i wymianach doświadczeń dotyczących np. coachingu, teatru i odgrywania ról, grywalizacji, pracy zespołowej, i myślenia projektowego.- Wzrost wiedzy i umiejętności 23 przedstawicieli młodzieży z organizacji partnerskich w zakresie planowania i przygotowywania działań, projektów i produktów poprzez uczestnictwo w warsztatach, szkoleniach organizowanych w trakcie mobilności łączonych.- zebranie doświadczeń 17 pracowników organizacji w zakresie organizacji i realizacji wolontariatu młodzieży oraz wymiana praktyk organizacji wolontariatu w specyfice różnych krajów,- doskonalenie kadry projektu i organizacji partnerskich w pracy w międzynarodowej grupie roboczej,- podniesienie kompetencji językowych i interpersonalnych przez kadrę projektu, organizacji partnerskich i uczestniczącą młodzież,- zwiększenie świadomości różnorodności kulturowej państw Partnerów i społeczeństwa europejskiego.- opracowanie planów działania, projektów i ich wdrożenie przez młodzież w trakcie inicjatywy lokalnej w każdym z krajów partnerskich;- wzrost wiedzy młodzieży w zakresie możliwości jakie mają korzystając z takich programów jak Europejski Korpus Solidarności, Projekty Solidarności, budżety obywatelskie, czy programy i konkursy innych organizacji pozarządowych,- zwiększenie poziomu wiedzy i umiejętności 13 osób z kadry organizacji partnerskich oraz 23 osób młodych z zakresu niesienia pomocy osobom z niepełnosprawnościami i projektowania działań i przestrzeni dostosowanej do ich potrzeb i możliwości."

In general, social exclusion refers to processes that prevent individuals, groups or communities from accessing the rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of society; responsible for social exclusion are often structural forces, such as: laws, public policies, institutional practices, organizational behaviors, and prevailing ideologies, values and beliefs. The list of marginalized groups of people of social exclusion can be extended almost ad infinitude and it includes young and adults with disabilities, ethnic, sexual and religious minorities, homeless, youth, young offenders, refugees, migrants etc. The EU sees social inclusion as ‘a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. The Step by Step project will bring together institutions from different European regions who are working with marginalized group of people ( young and adults with different tip of disability, refugees, migrants and ethnic group) in their pedagogical and/or artistic work with different means, and are interested to develop and exchange about complimentary artistic offerings (theater, photo, film, literature, dance, painting, music etc.). The aim is to improve the active inclusion of by providing artistic meet and exchange opportunities with the entire local community.